The Three Bears Complex
by Mollylyn
Summary: "Whats wrong?" "I'm just… I'm having a three bears moment." Contains JAM - see disclaimer.
1. Inkling

**A/N: Ok so little bit of a disclaimer here… obviously I own nothing. Along with owning nothing, there are a few things to note about this fic: **

**1: Its different from my other fics. While there is Jam in the story, and Jam moments, and Jammy overtones, it is not _strictly_ about the Jam relationship. The focus is on Sam and Jules, but its not _the story of their relationship_. Its more that their relationship is within the story. So, anti-jammers read at your own risk, and jammers, well, I hope theres enough to keep you satisfied. **

**2: The first while may seem slow. This is intentional.**

**Spoilers: Priority of Life, Slow burn. Story is set sometime after the two.**

* * *

><p>Sam went up the stairs looking for Jules, surprised to find her in the washroom. "Is everything ok?"<p>

"Yeah," Jules sighed, tossing the test in the trash.

"Was that a-"

"Yeah. It was negative, for the record."

He squinted slightly, trying to gage her reaction. "Does that bother you?"

"Not exactly. I mean, I'm not sure we're ready for that, it's just something's off and I was hoping it was that simple."

He leaned against the doorframe, a look of concern coming over his face. "Off? Like how?"

"I don't know. The past couple weeks I've just felt off, like something's… wrong…" She turned her attention back to the counter and began straightening things up.

He scowled slightly in confusion. "And that made you think you might be pregnant?"

She shrugged. "Not really, but it would have made sense. After all, those were some potent antibiotics they gave me for the anthrax so the pill was definitely useless this past month."

Sam nodded - she'd given him an entire health class worth of a lecture when she was released from the hospital, all because he had made a funny face when she'd asked him to get condoms while she picked up her prescription. "Ok, so maybe you're just thrown off by all the things that have changed in the past few weeks. I mean really, we went from hiding our relationship to the chief of police knowing about it, we almost lost our jobs, and the boss almost quit, all over the course of a week. Add to that that you got anthrax and almost bled out in a lab and really it's not surprising that you're finding things weird now."

"You're probably right." She smiled slightly, then checked the time on her phone. "We should get going. The boss'll scorpio us both if we're late."

* * *

><p>"Team One, Hot Call!"<p>

The team stopped their workout at the sound of the alarm and Winnie's voice over the intercom.

"Two masked gunmen, U of T library, address on your PDAs."

The boss scowled as he settled his radio in his ear. "Thats all we know?"

"911 is working through the calls, so far we've only got witnesses to the presence of the gunmen, no known shots fired."

"Yet," Sam mumbled, mostly to himself, as he hopped into the same truck as Ed.

"Lets hope it stays that way," Ed shot back at him. "Alright, Spike pull up schematics. Boss?"

"Spike you can double on intel and as my second, the rest of you I want inside trying to contain this thing."

Ed nodded. "Alright. Raf, you're with me, Sam with Jules."

The 'copy's were interrupted by Winnie's voice. "We've got a 911 caller reporting numerous shots fired, somewhere on the fourth floor of the building… no word on injuries."

"Great," Raf mumbled, turning to Jules. "This is going to suck."

Jules nodded. "Spike what kind of layout are we looking at here?"

Spike cleared his throat. "Building has four floors, stairwells A and B, at the north and east sides of the building, respectively. West wall of each floor has private study rooms, no interior windows so those will need to be approached with caution. Aside from that, the only real obstacles are the thousands of bookshelves."

"Alright, Ed and Raf take the north stairs, Sam and Jules take east. Clear the first floor and head straight for the fourth, we'll get uni's in there to maintain that the first floor is clear."

A series of 'copy's accepted Greg's direction without protest.

* * *

><p>As they reached the fourth floor Sam and Jules exchanged glances, unsure of just what they were getting into.<p>

"Raf, Ed?"

"In position."

With that, the two teams emerged from their respective stairwells and began searching the floor.

"Study rooms on west wall cleared," Raf confirmed as Ed confirmed the vacancy of the last room. "Moving on to the books." Raf and Ed turned their attention to the endless shelves of books in front of them. Half of the building had shelves running north to south, the other half east to west. Raf made a mental note that librarians must not be familiar with _feng shui_.

Sam and Jules continued weaving through the shelves that fell perpendicular to the east wall of the building.

Sam looked confused. "Anyone find any civilians yet?"

When the answer was no Jules paused a moment. "Ok, you're here in the library, shots are fired. Where do you hide?"

The two looked around before stopping with their eyes on the same dark corner at the back of the room. "There," Sam whispered. The two walked slowly to the back of the room.

Their eyes fell on what they could only assume were students, one male, one female. Jules exhaled hard as Sam covered for her while she checked for pulses.

Shaking her head 'no' she touched the comm in her ear. "Boss, we've got two dead."

Greg sighed into his comm. "Location?"

Jules looked around for markers. "Back corner, um, where east wall meets south."

"And our victims?"

Sam looked to Jules, whose search through their pockets had come up empty. "No ID. Looks like students, Im guessing a couple."

Greg shared the rest of the team's confusion as he questioned Sam's assessment. "What makes you think they're a couple?"

"I have no idea what section this is supposed to be, but I'm guessing theres not a lot of reading that goes on back here. Books are dusty, cobwebs on some. Their clothes aren't on right, and not just because they've both been shot." He then gestured to their joined hands, simply for Jules' benefit.

"He's right boss, definitely a couple. Our male vic took 3 shots to the chest, female took 5 to the face. Could be personal."

"Alright, that could be good news for us. If it was about that couple then perhaps-" He was cut off by the sound of more shots. "Team one: status!"

"No harm," Sam, Jules, Raf, and Ed said in unison.

Jules picked up both of the orphaned cell phones that lay on the floor near their victims.

"Sounded like it came from the third floor. Raf and I will head down there, Sam and Jules?"

"Doesn't look like either one of our vics were the 911 caller. You guys head down, we'll finish clearing this floor."

Jules replaced the phones to where she had found them and straightened up to stand next to Sam. The two continued their sweep. They walked though the sections of books, carefully scanning the floor for any other possible hiding places - their caller had to be there somewhere.

"What about over there?" Jules asked, pointing towards some desks covered in computers. The desks couldn't be seen under from their direction, which made it seem like a plausible hiding place.

Noting the hastily abandoned notebooks next to the computers Sam nodded in agreement. Continuing their sweep of the remaining rows of shelves, they made their way toward the desks. Silently, and carefully, they rounded the edge of the desk to check underneath, guns up and ready.

As their eyes fell on the faces of two terrified girls Sam lowered his weapon while Jules kept watch.

"Hey, hey its ok. We're going to get you two out of here. Is there anyone else up here that you know of?"

The girls shook their heads as they eased their way out from their hiding place. "No. I called 911 and then we hid."

"You're sure theres no one else up here?"

The shorter girl shook her head. "This floor is mostly all the law department's books - old cases and things - so it's usually pretty empty. You can find most of this stuff online."

The two officers nodded as they prepared to lead the girls to safety.

"Boss, we found our caller and a friend, send up some Uni's to get them out of here," Jules told Greg as they made their way back to the stairs. "Ed, Raf? How are you guys doing down there?"

Raf looked around cautiously before whispering, "We've found three students and a librarian, they're on their way out. Theres someone else down here though, we heard a door slam a few seconds ago."

"Got it, we're on our way down." Sam nodded to Jules, who followed.

* * *

><p>Greg rubbed his head, the exhaustion of the day wearing on him as he finished reading off the last page of the transcript. "<em>1:39pm - subjects secured, taken into custody by Constables Lane and Rousseau. <em>Any issues?"

The team shook their heads 'no'.

Greg gave a nod. "Alright. We've got two hours left in this day, what do you guys say we hit the gym, sweat it out, maybe give team 3 a hand with the restock, anything…" Satisfied with this order the team nodded and began to leave the briefing room. "…something productive, please!" Greg called after them.

The team split up - Spike took Raf to brag about some new parts for babycakes, Greg opted to finish off his report with a little help from Ed, and Sam and Jules went to see if there was anything they could help team 3 with. They had all just barely reached their destinations within HQ when they were alerted to yet another hot call.

* * *

><p>Jules covered her mouth with her arm as a yawn took over her body on the walk through the SRU parking lot. Sam gave a sympathetic smile, just before the contagious nature kicked in and he let out a yawn of his own. Their second call of the day had taken them well into OT, and the entire team was ready for a well deserved night's rest.<p>

Jules threw her head back and stretched her arms. "All I want to do is sleep."

"Me too," Sam nodded, rubbing at a cramp in his neck. "Um, I don't have any clean clothes left at your place… and I'm not doing laundry tonight. You want to come to my place?"

Jules sighed. "As nice as that sounds I don't have any clothes there… Did you wanna just sleep at our own places tonight?"

"No," Sam half laughed, "but I don't think either one of us are in much of a mood to be driving all over town tonight. Actually I think it's safer if we don't."

Jules nodded her agreement. "Alright… See you tomorrow?" She gave a small smile.

"Tomorrow it is."


	2. Spooked

**A/N: Hi! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter… I super adore people who try to guess whats going to happen (someone did in their review but the internet in my class isn't working and I probably won't remember to check who it was before posting this)…Anyways, Its amusing/interesting/fuels me to write more/faster! PS, I have drafts of chapters 3-7 ready for this fic so hopefully I'll be posting fairly regularly :)**

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><p>Without looking, Jules hung her keys on the hook by the door. The uneasy feeling still lingering, she took a quick walk through her house before shaking her head. Sam was right: she was taking the combination of a busy few weeks and transforming it into paranoia. Why couldn't she just let herself be happy?<p>

She dug through her dresser in search of something to sleep in. Unsatisfied with all her options, she turned to Sam's drawer, or at least the one that was mostly full of Sam's stuff. Tugging on a hoodie and a pair of his track pants - both of which devoured her small frame - she climbed into bed. She'd sleep better with him there, but she'd settle for his scent.

* * *

><p>Sam dropped his gym bag on the floor just inside the door. His keys found a home somewhere in the general vicinity of the coffee table, though in the dark he could never be sure. He noted the dark shadow of heels near the door, a sign that Natalie was home. With that, he slid the chain across the door and clicked the deadbolt. He kicked off his shoes as he made his way across the living room to his bedroom, leaving them scattered. He wasn't usually a slob - actually years of the military had made him, by his estimate, about the tidiest guy in Toronto - but tonight he was tired, and there was no Jules to impress with his neatness.<p>

He slumped down in the centre of his bed, smiling as the smell of Jules' shampoo came off of the pillow next to him. Within minutes his eyes were shut, and he was off in dreamland fantasizing about the home he hoped he'd someday share with Jules, and other, less G-rated, things.

* * *

><p>Jules rolled over in her bed, absently counting the bumps on her textured ceiling.<p>

_Come on Jules… Just close your eyes and get some rest…_

She fought the urge to call Sam - it was 2am and they had had an exhausting day, so much so that they had even agreed to spend the night apart, and the last thing he needed was her waking him up.

She'd been tossing and turning for over an hour now. She would be teetering on the edge of sleep when something would pull her back, and once again she'd be fighting to turn her mind off.

_Ok - not pregnant. Thats…good… But then what is it?_

In another attempt to force herself to sleep, Jules clenched her eyes shut and willed herself to go to sleep. She was nearly there, when she heard sounds emanating from downstairs.

_Typical Sam and his midnight snacks..._

With the realization that Sam wasn't there she sat straight up in bed and carefully moved herself to the edge. She grabbed her cell phone from the top of the nightstand, and her gun from the drawer below it. Shoving her cell in the front pocket of Sam's hoodie, and tightening the drawstring of the matching pants, she slowly moved towards the door of her room.

She took the corner carefully, leading with her gun and scanning the hallway as she went. She quickly 'cleared' the second floor of her house before taking the stairs. Back against the wall, she rounded the corner into the living room. Finding it empty, she checked the small dining room, before finally making her way into the kitchen. She found the source of the sound there - the blinds, of a window she didn't remember leaving open, crashing against the wall in the wind.

Jules let out the breath she had been holding for far too long, and gave a small nervous laugh as she closed the window and locked it. _Well done, Jules, subject secured alright._ Regardless of the source of the sound, she knew the recent spike of adrenaline in her system wasn't going to help her already sleepless night, so she grabbed her keys off the hook, her purse off the floor near the door, and left for the night.

* * *

><p>Sam groaned as his cell rumbled against the nightstand. "<em>Smaddick<em>" he muttered before clearing his voice and realizing he hadn't actually hit the accept button on the phone. He rubbed at his eyes and tried again, clearing his throat. "Braddock."

"Sam…I'm sorry... I… um… I'm at the door can I…"

His eyes widened in instant recognition of the voice, and was at the door before she could finish her question. Opening the door he raised an eyebrow at her attire - she was still swimming in his clothes. "Jules?"

"Hey," she whispered, cautious not to wake Natalie as she pushed past him into the apartment. She slipped off her shoes and placed them neatly near the door, then proceeded to pick up Sam's from their resting places on opposite sides of the room to do the same with them. "Can I sleep here?" She was only really asking as a courtesy as she had already disappeared into his room and was busy rearranging the pillows on _her _side of the bed.

Sam shook his head in shock as he locked the apartment door and followed her into his room. Closing the bedroom door he helped her with the pillows, wondering if he should ask. "Not that I mind you being here, but I thought you were staying at your place tonight…"

Jules shrugged. "Change of plans."

He knew that was the most incomplete answer she could have given, but she looked far too tired to be prodded for answers. Making a mental note to figure it out in the morning, he slipped back into his bed and pulled her tightly to his chest. When she was asleep within seconds, he decided that he had made the right decision in not pushing her.

* * *

><p>The next morning Sam found Jules in her usual place, in front of the blender in the kitchen. As she put together the smoothie of the day, he noticed she was still in the sweats she had shown up in the day before.<p>

She gave him half a glance as he entered the kitchen. "Good, you're up. Did you want some?"

He grimaced slightly at the off coloured mess in the pitcher in front of her. "I think I'm in more of a bagel mood today…" He grabbed one out of the bag on the counter and popped it into the toaster.

Jules shrugged. "Suit yourself. I think I'll take this to go, I've got to go by my place before shift for clothes."

Sam nodded. "What was last night about, anyways?"

"What do you mean? I told you, I changed my mind and wanted to sleep here."

"You say that… and yet you showed up at my door at 2am, in the sweats you had been sleeping in, no clothes for the morning or even a jacket. I know its summer, but you're always cold. What happened last night?"

"Nothing _happened_, Sam. I just decided I wanted to sleep here, ok? That's all. Just leave it alone. I'll see you at work." With that she turned on her heel and headed out the door, leaving a confused, and concerned, Sam in her wake.

* * *

><p>"So today I was thinking we'd go patrolling… Let the city know we're still here, an easy day in comparison to yesterday?" Greg smiled as the team looked relieved to hear his plans for the day.<p>

Raf grinned. "As in no guys shooting their ex-girlfriends or parents taking their children hostage? Sounds good to me!"

The rest of the team shared in Raf's enthusiasm as Greg fought to regain control of the conversation."Alright, alright. Raf and Ed, Spike and Sam, Jules with me." The team quickly sorted out who would be keeping the peace where, and began to walk out to the trucks.

"Winnie, anyone asks Team one is patrolling tonight."

"Got it Sarge. Oh, and Jules there was a call for you. Some guy, didn't leave a name, or even a message for that matter."

Jules looked at Winnie in confusion. The only men who ever called her were the 5 men who had just been in the briefing room with her. Well, there was Wordy, but he would have identified himself to and greeted Winnie. "What number was it from?" As Winnie handed her the number she had taken down, Jules checked it against the contacts in her phone, only to find it wasn't there. "Weird… are you sure he asked for me?"

Winnie nodded. "Julianna Callaghan."

Jules looked to Greg, who shrugged. "Guess if its important he'll call back."


	3. Meaning in the Mundane

**A/N: ****obsi2 & Sules: how's that for fast?**

**Oh, and please review. I love reading the guesses!**

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><p>Greg turned to his patrol partner. "You've been quiet today Jules, is everything ok?"<p>

"Yeah," She sighed. "I'm just thinking about that missed call."

He gave a small nod. "Its probably nothing. Its likely just some reporter wanting to ask about how you talked down our gunman yesterday. Nothing to worry about."

"You're probably right," she said quietly, turning her attention back to the passing side streets outside her window. "Its just… nevermind, I'm sure you're right. Its nothing."

Greg focused on driving for a moment, unsure of how to continue. There was no way she was telling him the whole truth. Jules wasn't quiet over anything - if she thought you were wrong, she told you so. There was no way that she would let go of something that quickly. "Jules? Is everything alright?"

"I said it was." It wasn't a snarly response, simply a statement of what she had told him before.

Greg nodded. He knew he may be treading on dangerous ground - it was possible it had nothing to do with him, and pressing the issue would only bring an unnecessary rift within the team - but he had to be sure. "Jules, if there's something going on that's going to affect your job performance I need to know about it."

She simply gave an absent nod in response, determined to keep staring out the window.

Greg took a deep breath, and decided to ask the question that had been lurking in his mind all day. "Is it something to do with Sam?"

Jules' jaw dropped as she swung her gaze back to him. "No. Sam and I are fine. I just feel weird, alright? But like people keep saying its probably nothing, so leave it alone. Please."

"Weird how?"

"Boss…"

"Fine. I'll drop it for now because I'm hungry and you still owe me a bagel. Just know that I'm here, if you ever need a hand, or an ear."

Jules nodded, fishing for her change as the truck pulled into the closest Timmies.

* * *

><p>"Dude, you see Sam today?"<p>

"Don't call me _dude, dude_. And yeah, we were all in the briefing room together, remember?

Raf rolled his eyes. "No, I mean did you notice he looked like he hadn't slept? Jules too..."

Ed half snorted. "Well Raf, when a man and a lady-"

"Ok ok thank you Officer Lane. I'll never share my observations with you again. Is that what you want?"

Ed rolled his eyes. "So they looked tired. Your point?"

"Not just tired. Jules looked exhausted, Sam looked worried. I'm telling you, something's up."

Ed nodded, taking in what his teammate had said.

* * *

><p>"…so I decided to order it for babycakes. We were under budget on her for the year, but now we're over. I thought Halloran was going to blow a gasket when…" Spike turned to the teammate sitting in the passenger's seat. "Sam?"<p>

"Huh? Oh sorry Spike… babycakes?"

"Is getting a new scanner. What's up Samtastic? You're boring today."

"Just tired Spike."

Spike nodded. "Late night?" he asked with a wink.

Sam smirked slightly, shaking his head. "Long story."

Spike cringed slightly. Now that Sam and Jules were officially a _thing_, he was beginning to realize he couldn't talk to Sam about girls the same way. "A Jules story?"

"Not _that_ kind of story." Sam said simply. They two fell silent for a moment before Sam spoke again. "She showed up at my apartment at 2am."

"Nice!" Spike laughed. "But please leave the story there. I prefer not to think of Jules like…"

"Not like that Spike. She just showed up and wanted to sleep there. Didn't bring a bag or anything."

"So?"

"So, we went to our own houses last night because we were both too lazy to pack, and then suddenly she showed up out of nowhere."

Spike thought for a moment - he suspected his experience with women was somewhat less than Sam's, and he hadn't had many serious enough relationships to be able to relate to Sam and Jules. Instead he thought about Jules, the teammate he'd known for years. "Maybe she just changed her mind. Women are… finicky, you know?"

"Maybe."

* * *

><p>Out of habit, Sam turned on Jules' personal cell as they got into her jeep after shift. "Hmm."<p>

Jules looked over from the driver's seat. "What?"

"You've got a few missed calls."

Jules' eyes widened and she seemed to straighten up in her seat. "From?"

"Unknown caller. Oh well," Sam said passively, moving to drop the phone into Jules' purse.

Jules grabbed for the phone, concern rising in her voice. "_Unknown caller_? How many missed calls? What the hell?"

Sam double checked the phone. "13."

She slammed the brakes as she pulled the jeep onto the shoulder of the road. "THIRTEEN? !"

He handed her the phone so she could see for herself.

"THIRTEEN!" she continued, reviewing to see that they were from at least three different numbers.

Sam shrugged. "I'm sure its nothing Jules. Probably just someone got a new phone and messed up when giving someone their new number."

Jules shook her head. "Someone called for me at the station today, didn't leave a name or a message and it wasn't a number I recognized either…"

He looked at her sympathetically. "Jules you don't honestly think they're connected do you?"

"Of course they are!" she insisted. "How could they not be?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Jules, the call at the station was probably a nosey reported calling in a feeble attempt to get the story on the SRU's hot negotiating sniper chick. And seriously, I bet if you reverse two numbers on you phone number you'd find the person who these calls were meant for. Can we please go home now?"

"Sam thats 14 calls in one day, all from numbers I don't recognize. How is that not weird?"

He shook his head and sighed. "Jules, you're seeing meaning where there isn't any. You're just overtired because-"

"There was someone in my house last night," Jules whispered.

Sam's head jerked back to look at her. "What?"

"I heard sounds and-"

"And you saw this guy? When? Where? How did he get away? Why didn't you tell me?"

Jules sighed, shaking her head. "I went downstairs to see what the noise was and the window was open and the blinds were banging against the wall and making this loud-" she stopped as Sam began laughing. "Its not funny!"

Sam stifled his laughter. "I'm sorry, but Jules… thats why you showed up at my place? Because you were scared of the blinds?"

"Not just the blinds! The window was open…"

"Its been hot. You probably opened it while you were cooking."

Jules was quiet for a few minutes, mulling over what Sam had said. By all logic he was right - she didn't have air conditioning and the kitchen did tend to get obscenely hot in the summer…

"Come on Jules, get the car back on the road and take us home. I'll make you dinner and we can just relax, ok? Its been a long few days…"

Unwilling to argue anymore, Jules did as he asked and drove home.


	4. Paranoia 1

As expected, Sam got the silent treatment the entire drive to Jules' house. He'd try to start a conversation, but she would simply look out the window, check her mirrors, anything to let him know he was in the dog house. When they arrived at her house, she exited the jeep, and walked as quickly as she could towards the front door.

"Jules, wait…"

She waved him off like a fly, looking over her shoulder to scan the road in front of the house.

"Jules, listen," he said as he caught up to her, placing a hand on her elbow to turn her towards him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed. But seriously Jules, you told me you were scared off by the blinds in your kitchen, you can't tell me you wouldn't have done the same if roles were reversed…"

Jules scowled, continuing up the stairs to her porch. "Thank you for your support, Sam. You know what? I'm honestly not sure I want you here after that, and part of me just wants to send you back to your place, but-" She stopped as her voice began to crack.

Sam stopped where he was, taking in her expression. Her voice had cracked, and her eyes were growing ever so slightly glossy, and he thought she might actually cry. "You're really scared, aren't you?" he asked, softly.

She didn't, couldn't, meet his gaze, and continued to survey the street in front of her.

"You don't have anything to worry about. As long as I'm around, I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

Jules gave a small nod and turned to unlock the door. She hung her keys on the hook by the door, as always, and wandered into the house. Sam followed closely behind, then asked her to wait a moment. Neither of them were sure why - maybe to humour her, maybe because she had planted seeds of doubt in his mind, or maybe just because he loved her - but Sam then proceeded to do a sweep of the house to make sure there were no intruders. After telling her they were all clear, he headed off to the kitchen.

With the oven preheating, Sam wandered out to the living room in search of Jules. He found her standing in front of the fireplace, a curious look on her face.

"What is it?" he asked.

She narrowed her eyes, scanning the mantel. "These figurines are all wrong."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "What? Wrong how?"

"This one is always over here… and that one…" She trailed off as she began rearranging the small porcelain knickknacks around the room.

Sam only watched, unsure of what to say to her confusion.

"And where's the picture of the team at the picnic? I swear I put it right here…" Jules moved towards the fireplace, tapping a space on the mantel.

Sam looked around the room, smiling when he found the framed picture on one of the end tables near the sofa. "Here it is." He picked it up and passed it to her. "You must have moved it to make room for this one," he told her, indicating a picture of the two of them. "I'm glad you moved it down here."

Jules' eyes stayed trained on the photo she had previously kept on her dresser. _I didn't move it… _

"Jules?" When she didn't reply Sam moved closer to her. "Jules, what's wrong?"

She rubbed at her eyes. "I'm just… I'm having a three bears moment."

"_Three bears_?"

She shook her head. "Maybe I'm just losing it. I'm moving things around and not remembering I did it later," Jules sighed and turned to head towards the kitchen. "What are you making me for dinner?"

* * *

><p>After dinner Jules settled into her bed while Sam took a shower. When he was finished, he found she was already half asleep. He quietly flicked off the lights and curled up next to her.<p>

"Goodnight," she mumbled.

"Goodnight," he replied, snuggling her closer. "I'm sorry I laughed earlier…"

"Its ok, I'm just being paranoid."

Sam closed his eyes and smiled against her shoulder. "Maybe, but I shouldn't have laughed at you."

Jules smiled sleepily, not bothering to open her eyes. "Sam? That trick with my book was just plain mean."

"What trick?"

Jules gave a half giggle. "You moved my bookmark, you jerk. It took me almost 10 minutes to find the right page."

"Jules, I didn't touch your book."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yes, short chapter, booo! But come on, you have to admit that was a good place to end it... Originally Paranoia parts 1 and 2 were one chapter, but its jumps from scene to scene a lot, and I couldn't resist leaving it there... **

**I'll make it up to you people too though - I'm going to post part 2 NOW too :) **


	5. Paranoia 2

**A/N: As promised, here's Paranoia 2 (like I said, they were originally one chapter, but there's a lot of different stuff and I felt like it needed to be split up).**

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><p>As a result of a malfunctioning alarm clock, Sam and Jules woke up late the next morning, which meant there was a lot of running around, grabbing whichever clothes was closest, and various fruits being scarfed down for breakfast.<p>

"We've really got to get going…"

"I know, I know, just let me brush my teeth," Jules whined, toothbrush already in her mouth. She made quick work of it, and joined Sam at the front door.

"Ready?"

"Let's go," she said, turning to the hook on the wall. "Where are my keys?"

"What?"

"My keys. They're not on their hook…"

"They're right there on the table, Jules," Sam told her, pointing to a small table in the hallway.

"Why did you move them there?"

"I didn't."

"Sam…"

"Jules, I didn't put them there. Why would I have your keys? Thats just stupid, you drove home yesterday."

"But I always keep them on the hook."

"Well, maybe yesterday you were tired and you kept them on the table. Let's go, we're going to be late."

"No, Sam. I _always_ keep them on the hook, that way I can find them right away if we get called in and I have to leave in a hurry," she insisted. "How did they get over there?"

Sam just looked back at her, his own confusion and concern rising from within him.

* * *

><p>As the members of team one finished up in their locker rooms they began to shuffle out. Greg caught Sam's arm, holding him back as the rest of the group proceeded to the briefing room.<p>

"What's going on?" Sam asked.

Greg took a quick look around to make sure the room was empty. "Is there something I should know about? Something going on with Jules?"

Sam shrugged. "I think she's had a rough couple weeks. Why?"

Greg sighed, rubbing his head as he found a place on one of the benches. "Yearly re-qualifications are next week, and she hasn't signed up yet…"

"You know she hates psych evals," Sam reminded him.

Greg shook his head. "She hasn't signed up for the physical either, and thats never been an issue with her."

Sam face filled with concern as he took the seat next to his boss, his head in his hands. "She thinks there's something wrong," he admitted.

"Wrong?"

"Wrong. She doesn't know what, or how, but she thinks something is wrong."

"Could just be anxiety, no one likes going for a physical…"

Sam bit his lip, unsure that he wanted to be having the conversation. He gave a reluctant sigh. "She's getting a little paranoid, Boss. She's all freaked out about some missed calls on her cell, thinks things are being moved around in her house. She actually swears there was someone _in_ her house a few nights ago."

Greg took in what Sam was telling him. "Have you talked to her about it?"

"Sort of. I told her the missed calls were probably just a fluke, and we both think maybe she moved around some stuff in her house and forgot about it. Its weird. Honestly I don't know what-"

_"Team one, Hot call!"_

Sam and Greg exchanged looks, and Greg clapped a hand on Sam's shoulder. "We'll figure it out," he told him, and the two got up to go join the rest of their team.

* * *

><p>Greg secured his earpiece as he jumped out of the SUV. "Ok team one, here's what we've got. Subject is an unidentified female, threatening to jump off the roof of an office building. Raf, Ed - I want you two on the perimeter. We need this place as clear as we can get it, don't need anyone antagonizing the subject. Spike - truck, we need to know this building. See if there are any other doors to near where she's standing so we can have a better vantage. Sam, cover me while I negotiate. Jules… in the truck with Spike, find out who our girl is."<p>

Jules gave him an indignant glare as she pulled her Boss aside. "Truck? Are you kidding me?"

"I need you to find out who this girl is…"

"Boss, I can do this. You know I can…"

Greg nodded slightly. "I know you can, but I'm going to take this one. Now, I need you in the truck."

Jules was fuming as she entered the mobile command truck, slamming the door behind her and earning a shocked look from Spike. "Sorry," she muttered.

"Everything ok?"

Jules rolled her eyes as she pulled a seat up to a monitor and began trying to identify the subject. "He trucked me. _Trucked me_. What the hell did I do to deserve that?"

Spike gave a small smile. "Gee, good to be in here with you too, Jules."

She glared at him. "You know what I mean, Spike. As awful as it sounds, jumpers are kind of my thing, and yet here I am, in the truck."

"Maybe its because you-" He cut himself off.

Jules whirled around to face him. "Go on…"

Spike sighed, typing away on the keyboard in front of him. "You're not yourself lately. You're fine in the field, but as soon as we get to HQ and have free time or team workout you're just… tuned out."

She simply glared at him, then turned her attention back to her own keyboard. "Subject's name is Victoria Andre. Looks like she's an administrative assistant in the building."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Also, I hope these chapters somewhat made up for meany Sam in chapter 3.**


	6. Presentiment

**A/N: just a quick note - I have no idea where 'a three bears moment' came from. I know i've said it before, but I'm not entirely where I heard it, or even if I heard it somewhere.**

**So, tentative disclaimer: Unless someone can prove they created the **_**three bears moment/complex **_**BEFORE this story was published, then I own it.**

* * *

><p>"Bus is leaving in five, Callaghan."<p>

Jules jumped at the sudden realization that she wasn't the only one in her locker room. Turning around, she saw Ed, tapping his foot impatiently, standing next to Sam.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you…"

Jules shook her head. "Nah I'm just kind of in my own world here…" She closed the locker door and turned back to face Sam. "I got more calls today…"

Sam raised an eyebrow and took her phone from her. "Fifteen missed calls…"

Ed moved closer, reviewing the missed call list from over Sam's shoulder. "You're a popular lady."

"Thats nearly 30 calls over the past two days… still think its a wrong number, Sam?"

"Wait, what?" Ed took the phone from Sam.

Sam sighed. "Yesterday she had 13 missed calls… I figured it was just a wrong number…"

Ed shook his head. "You should have Spike trace these."

* * *

><p>"Well, the good news is I've found the numbers the calls came from…" Spike announced proudly, glancing up from the monitor in front of him.<p>

"The bad news?" Sam demanded.

Spike sighed. "The bad news is the numbers are for pay phones. Multiple pay phones."

"So someone's been covering up who they are by using pay phones?" Raf offered.

Spike took a moment, scanning through the information on the screen in front of him. "That's what I thought too. Then I reviewed the calls that followed from each phone, and on each and every one of the phones the next call out was to a number very close to yours, the 3 and the 5 are reversed."

Greg nodded. "Tell them who that phone number belongs to."

Spike sighed, as the rest of the team looked at him hopefully. "Its a cab service."

There are small sighs of relief from most of the team - somehow in the five minutes since Jules had asked Spike to check into the numbers they'd all been theorizing the worst, though no one was willing to say it. Instead, the air had hung thick with unspoken guesses - the heavy breather that would be on the other end if Jules got to the phone in time, the terrifying threats that may have lingered if Jules wasn't too cheap to pay for voicemail. Now, the tension was quickly dissipating, and the air was beginning to clear.

Jules shook her head, unwilling to believe that it was just a wrong number. "But thats… how can so many people be getting the number wrong?"

Spike perked up a little, almost too thrilled at the opportunity to advance a crazy theory. "Conspiracy? Someone covering their tracks by calling another number?"

Ed shook his head, his agreement evident. "These phone booths are all over town, that seems like a lot of effort considering they don't even talk to her when they call. Theres not even a message service, so its not like anyone can get off on taunting her with threats, right?"

Raf gave a slight nod. "There's really nothing that would spur on more calls. Its not like you yell and scream at them when they call, right?"

"No, I'm never around when it rings, or the phone is off."

"Right, so if it was someone trying to harass you, wouldn't they have stopped when they weren't getting any reaction? My guess is these phones are close to bars, and callers are all to wasted to be dialling. It would also explain their need for a cab," Raf shrugged, sitting back in his chair.

"But that doesn't explain anything else," she said quietly.

Sam nodded, pondering her point. "Maybe its just stress? Crazy few weeks, feeling of being harassed by phone…"

"Alright, well, I'm changing my number next time we have a day off. Till then, this thing is staying off, and you people can reach me on my work cell." Somewhat disappointed with the results of the trace, Jules needed to change the subject. "So, I thought we were heading to the Goose?"

The team nodded in agreement and headed towards the door. As they reached the stairwell, Sam excused himself from his place walking beside Jules, saying he forgot something.

"Boss, you got a second?"

Greg nodded, hanging back from the group with Sam.

"These calls might be wrong numbers, but she's right, that really doesn't explain the rest of what's been happening."

"So maybe the calls are unrelated, just coincidental."

Sam shook his head. "Ok, so lets say it is. How do we explain the stuff moving around her house? I know I said maybe she's forgetting that she moved things around, but what does that say about her?"

Greg gave a nod, following Sam's line of thought.

"Honestly," Sam continued, pausing briefly to bite his lip. "Its like the options are someone is fucking with her, or she's sick. I'm not sure which one scares me more."

"I get it," Greg sighed. "But without knowing which one it is we can't act on anything. You said there's no sign of forced entry around her house?"

"None," Sam confirmed. "I did a walk around last night while she was sleeping, and theres nothing. All the windows lock properly, alarm system is always on, patio door is practically rusted shut because we haven't used it much this summer. Its weird Boss…"

"Alright, well, I'm mentioning re-qualifications in our morning meeting tomorrow, so hopefully that'll encourage her to get those over with so we can at least eliminate that possibility."

They both sighed, nodding their agreement, and went to catch up to their team.

* * *

><p>Jules walked the length of the hallway, gun held out in front of her. Sam was still asleep upstairs, so who the hell was in the living room, making all that noise? She took the stairs slowly, careful to avoid the spots she knew would set off a chorus of creaking noises. Her heart beat through her chest as she took a moment to pause before rounding the corner to the room in question. She glanced down at her attire - pj pants and a worn RCMP t-shirt - nothing close to the kevlar she was used to for this sort of thing. She took a deep breath, and started to make her move around the corner when-<p>

"Sam!"

For the third time that night he jolted to life beside her, settling her shaking hands with one hand, turning her to face him with the other. "Its ok. You're ok. It was just a dream, Jules. You're safe."

She blinked furiously at the tears escaping her eyes, panting and gasping as she fought for control of her breathing. "I… oh god… there was…"

Shaking her head she turned to look him in the eye, and for the first time he saw how truly terrified she was in this whole deal. He pulled her close to him, rocking her slowly. She shivered, and he dragged the duvet up to cover both of them in their sitting position. He stayed in that position for what felt like hours, but, judging by the uncomfortably bright digital clock on the nightstand, it was only minutes.

He wondered what to do. This was the third time in as many hours that she'd awoken in this state of sheer panic and terror, and even though he knew how to calm her down, how to bring her back to reality, he knew it would only be a matter of time before the next monster terrorized her dreams.

He worried about the cause of this. What was the deal with shit moving around her house? He had thought at one point, very briefly, that maybe she had been sleepwalking. He'd quickly dismissed that idea, however, seeing that he was the world's lightest sleeper and would certainly have known if she left the bed. Was it possible someone was moving things around on her? If someone really was harassing her with those calls and just covering them up damn well, then what was their endgame? He shuddered at the thought.

"I booked my psych eval for the morning," she whispered. "And I'm calling my doctor before work to see how soon I can get in for a full medical. Something's wrong Sam… and I have to know if that _something_ is me."

He nodded gently, and they both slid down so that they were lying on the bed, still entangled in each other as she still seemed to be too afraid to move. He wondered where she may have picked up a stalker, if that was what was happening here. She hadn't dated much in the time that they were apart, that he knew of at least. And she didn't make a pattern of pissing people off, as far as he could tell.

Then there was always the other option - that it was her. That something was wrong _inside_ _her_, that caused _her_ to move things and not remember, to feel like something was constantly wrong, like someone had been in her house. He considered the bears she had referred to - a reference which had boggled his mind and took him most of their evening to comprehend. Somehow he didn't see Goldielocks at the end of this.


	7. Evaluation

**A/N: A quick apology for the length of time between updates... I'll try and get the next chapter up sometime this weekend (how about by Tuesday?), no promises though because, as per usual, school is kicking my ass (actually, I finally got grades back on assignments I thought I failed... ya, got A+s on them...I guess I'm kicking school's ass back, eh?). Ok, enough rambling. Read! Read!**

* * *

><p>The morning had been a quiet one. Sam and Jules ate breakfast together, only talking about the food in front of them as they were both nervous about what the day would hold. When they had finished their meal they drove to HQ in their separate cars, as usual. When they arrived there, Sam met Jules at the door of her jeep, giving her hand a gentle squeeze and telling her it would be ok. She gave a half-hearted smile, and they walked in together.<p>

As she walked into the briefing room to meet with Sergeant Parker and the department psychologist, Sam watched from the hallway. Sighing as he watched the doors close behind her, he only hoped that he was right, and everything would be ok.

* * *

><p>Greg jotted down some notes in her file. "You booked your physical, right?"<p>

"Yeah, managed to get an appointment for today… actually I should probably get going for that…"

"Alright. See you in a few hours?"

She walked out of the briefing room and down the hall towards the locker rooms so she could grab her purse. Finding she was alone in her locker room she took a minute to sit on one of the benches. Her heart was beating through her chest, and she was having trouble catching her breath. She dropped her head to her hands and forced herself to take deep breaths. _Calm down, Jules, calm down. They said you… _She was sure she was on the verge of hyperventilating completely when she felt a warm hand on her back.

"Jules? Jules, what's wrong?"

She shifted her head out of her hands enough to see Sam round the bench to kneel in front of her.

"What's wrong? What did they say?" The look on his face told her he was close to panicking himself.

"They said I'm fine," she managed, rubbing her face furiously. "They said I'm not crazy. Hypervigilant, but not crazy."

Sam smiled, relief washing over him. "Thats great," he told her, kissing her softly.

"No, its not," she whispered. When he simply looked confused she continued. "If I'm not crazy, then that means its something physical. Sam, psychotherapy is a whole lot easier to deal with than whatever physical nonsense makes me feel this way."

"Hey hey, you don't know that, you don't know that anything is actually wrong. They said you're hypervigilant, that's not so bad. I'm sure thats all it is."

She shrugged before giving a small nod. She didn't quite believe him, but she had places to be and this conversation could take all day. "Anyway I have to go. My doctor managed to get me in for noon and I'm going to be late."

* * *

><p>"Your arm seems to have healed nicely. Did you have any issues with the stitches?"<p>

"No," Jules gulped, still nervous.

Her doctor nodded as he flipped through the very large file he had on her. Jules thought for a moment about all the things that would be in that file. She'd been going to the same doctor for years, so nearly everything was in there - broken toe, fractured wrist, strep throat she caught from Sam, gun shot wound, anthrax, shrapnel.

"Did you finish all the antibiotics as instructed?"

Jules nodded, then added a verbal yes to make it official.

The doctor continued questioning her on nearly every aspect of her life, from the physical to the emotional and back again. Jules wondered for a moment if he was conducting a psych evaluation of his own - she certainly hoped so. "Alright. The nurse should be in shortly with the results of the stress test. Meanwhile, is there anything you wanted to ask?"

"About the paranoia. I had my psych eval this morning, and the department shrink seems to think I'm just overreacting because of the anthrax thing, but I'm still not convinced there's nothing wrong."

The doctor squinted, making more notes in the file. "I don't see anything that would indicate any kind of mental illness if that's what you're worried about. The blood tests _could_ show something, but without any other symptoms I'm inclined to agree with the psychologist. If it makes you feel any better I can put a rush on the bloodwork, but from what I can tell you're healthy as can be; a model patient."

Jules frowned. She had been so worried that one of the evaluations would reveal something horrible that she had basically expected there to be some tragic news that day. Somehow, getting the all clear from both seemed to be more unsettling, as it offered no real answers for what she felt was happening to her.

* * *

><p>She arrived back at HQ around 3 that afternoon, just in time for a hot call.<p>

Ed nodded, taking in the situation unfolding in front of him. "Jules, second the boss. I'll be sierra one, Sam sierra two. Spike, get us all you can on both the subject and the hostage. Raf, cover the boss."

The team dutifully shuffled off to their respective positions.

Spike typed away. "Boss, subject's name is Alex Martins, civil engineer for a firm downtown. Looks like he was recently laid off after 15 years with the company."

Greg nodded from his position across from the subject. "And the hostage?" he asked.

Jules pointed to something on her screen that she wanted Spike to look into before answering her boss. "Cassidy Lark, works at the same company, checking for a connection right now."

Greg took a deep breath and edged forward behind Raf. "My name is Sergeant Greg Parker of the Police Strategic Response Unit. Can you tell me what we're doing here today, Alex?"

"Stay over there! I promise, I will shoot," the man declared, waving his gun in the air.

"Alright, I'm not going to come any closer, see?" Greg told him, taking a small step backwards. With the subject focused back on his hostage, Greg turned his head so he was more behind Raf and spoke into his comm. "Sierra 1 what's your position?"

Ed peered through his scope, shaking his head. "Its not a clean shot, no solution boss. Sierra two?"

Sam double checked his angle, giving a nod even though he knew no one could see him. "I've got the solution."

"Ok. Sam hold for my scorpio, Ed we're good for crowd control down here, why don't you stay up there as Sam's observer."

"Copy that."

Spike pressed his comm to his ear. "Boss, looks like Cassidy was hired at the firm a few months ago. Coworkers say she and Alex went on a few dates but it didn't go anywhere. Then, when Alex was being let go, he brought it up, said that she should be let go because she was the more recent hire, even tried to claim she had sexually harassed him."

"He's projecting blame, boss. He think's his lay off was her fault, not the company's," Jules added. "According to the company's records, Cassidy was also let go, this past tuesday. I'm guessing he doesn't know that."

Greg nodded. As far as he could tell this information made taking Alex down that much easier. "Alex, I know why you're mad at Cassidy. I know you're upset that you were laid off-"

"You. Know. Nothing!"

He took a deep breath. "I know that you were upset that you were being laid off and not her, I know that in your exit interview you tried to get her fired."

"She should have been! I've been there for 15 years and she just waltzes in and gets to stay after only 3 months!"

"That's where you're wrong, Alex. She didn't get to stay. She was let go on tuesday. Not laid off, flat out let go."

Jules looked shocked as Spike showed her what he had pulled up. "Boss, theres something you need to know."

Greg paused, acknowledging the voice in his ear. "Go ahead Jules."

"Subject has a criminal history boss. Assault, assault with a weapon. He's got years of anger management sessions under his belt and psychological issues to match. The past 20 years have been a mess - Boss, his job was the only thing constant while everything else fell apart. It won't be easy to convince him there are other things. Add to that his violent tendencies… go careful, Boss."

Greg inhaled hard, Jules' words sparking nervousness within him. He had a volatile subject with a hostage and little to live for. He had to think quickly, and make sure he called scorpio if need be. "Cassidy is not the reason you were laid off. Alex, you're a smart man, there are a lot of other-"

"Liar!" the man screamed, raising his gun to point at Greg. "You. You are full of LIES! What, did the company pay you to say that? I am so sick and tired of liars. I am sick and tired of people who think they know what they're talking about when they don't!"

"Alex, please, lower your weapon so we can talk."

"No! I will shoot you, you stay back there!"

"Alex, listen to me. You won't shoot me, because you won't have a chance. I'm warning you now. My guys are the best, and they won't let that happen. Now, please, talk to me so that we can all go home today."

"No." The man's voice was resigned. Calm. Too calm.

"Scorpio."

Greg sighed as he knew Sam's finger pulled the trigger, and moved to escort the hostage to safety.

* * *

><p>Ed looked up from the transcript as he finished reading. "So we're in agreement?"<p>

Raf raised his hands to show no contest.

Jules nodded along with them. "Martins had given up, he didn't see anything left to lose. Add to that his violent history, and the Boss had no choice. He made the right call."

Spike sighed. While they were all confident that there had been no other option, it still weighed hard on them that it had to end that way. His head spun around as he heard the footsteps coming down the hall towards them.

Turning around, they all saw Greg coming back from his interview with SIU.

"How'd that go?" Jules asked.

Greg shrugged. "You guys were there, it was fairly textbook, was it not?"

The team nodded their agreement, concerned at their boss' doubt.

Ed raised a brow. "Why, what makes you think it wasn't?"

"I'm just not sure they're convinced," Greg told them. "Sam's still in there. I'm betting they're going to go after him for whatever I didn't give them."

The team let out a shared sigh, relaxing into the briefing room chairs. It was normal for them to wait around while one of their own was being questioned, though it wasn't required. After about fifteen minutes had passed, Jules failed to disguise an overwhelming yawn.

"Ok, I'm sorry," she said, rubbing her eyes. "This day has been too long. I'm going home."

Spike shared the rest of the team's confusion. "You aren't going to wait for Sam?"

Jules sighed. "Please, SIU could have him in there all night. I spent the day being evaluated to make sure I'm not crazy… he'll understand."

The team nodded. How could they argue with that?

With that, she was off to her locker room where she quickly changed before heading to her jeep.

* * *

><p>As Jules walked into her house she hung her keys on the hook as usual. She dropped her purse on the couch, grabbed a water from the fridge, and headed upstairs to shower.<p>

She wasn't sure how long she had spent in there, but if the layer of fog on the bathroom mirror was any indication, it had been longer than her usual shower. She knew she was drawing things out just to try and wear off the effects of the other events of the day - the psych evaluation she passed, the physical she'd deemed inconclusive even though her doctor had told her she was fine. She walked from the bathroom in her towel, turning on her stereo while she picked out some pyjamas. She wanted so badly for the day to be over. All she wanted was to go to sleep and hope that she would feel better in the morning. Sam would be home soon - how long could SIU legally hold him anyways? - and once he was she could sleep soundly.

It bothered her, how she couldn't sleep quite the same without him there, but she could deal with that. She turned up the music as she slipped into her track pants and a t-shirt. She let the towel drop from her hair, hanging it on the hook on the back of her door before she started combing the knotted mess. That was a Sam thing, she mused. While she always preferred things to be in a 'proper' place, like the hook on the door, which was why she almost always kept the towel there, Sam, on the other hand, hated wet towels on the floor. Didn't matter if it was carpet or hardwood, he couldn't stand a wet towel on the floor. It was one of the only real quirks she couldn't quite figure out about him. Dirty t-shirts, he leaves them on the floor. Jeans - well, why hang them up when you can drop them on the floor? But wet towels - Hell no.

Speaking of Sam, she could hear him rummaging through somewhere downstairs, likely the kitchen by her estimate. Leaving the stereo on, she went downstairs to see what he was doing. Part of her wanted to yell at him, tell him to keep it down because she was about to go to bed. Another part of her hoped he was making her dinner, in honour of what felt like the longest day of her life.

No part of her was expecting what she found.

As she rounded the corner into the kitchen she froze on the spot, and her eyes went wide.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Alright, well, I hope that at least gave _some_ answers... and maybe some new questions...**

**Got guesses on what she found? Drop me a review!**


	8. Confirmation

Ed's eyes were pointed straight ahead, focused on his destination. As he came to the right door, he ignored the officer standing guard and shoved the door open.

Three sets of eyes shot up from their positions at opposing sides of the table.

"You can't be in here," the SIU detective told him, clearly peeved by the interruption.

"Excuse me? It's been 3 hours. I doubt the answers have changed. Sam," he said, turning to face him directly. "We've got a call. We're leaving."

Sam turned to his lawyer, who gave the detective a smirk and echoed Ed's sentiments.

Confused, Sam followed Ed out of the room. "What's going on?"

"We've got a call," Ed told him, leading him out the doors to the SUVs. One was already missing, and Sam gathered the rest of the team had already left.

"What kind of call?"

Ed waited until they were in the car and pulling away from HQ. "House fire, fire department is on scene, the rest of the team left only about a minute ago so they're a few blocks ahead of us."

Sam furrowed his brow, completely confused. "Not that I'm not thrilled to be out of the inquisition, but how is that an SRU call?"

Ed sighed. "It's Jules' house."

* * *

><p>Sam was never so impressed with Ed's driving as that day. Somehow, they managed to make it to Jules' house just behind the rest of their team, and they all got out of their SUVs at the same time. Sam stood in shock, taking in the blazing building before him.<p>

"Ok team," Greg warned, "I want everyone to find out what they can without stepping on any toes. We don't need to make any enemies here."

While the team took off in different directions, Ed stayed with Sam, who was busy searching the crowd for Jules. Any sign of Jules. Anything that would tell him she's not-

"There," Ed pointed, as if reading his mind.

Sam whirled around to check the direction Ed was pointing. His eyes fell on his girlfriend, crouched in a sitting position on the curb across from her home, her hair still wet from the shower. There was a paramedic tending to a few scrapes on her forehead, whom she was clearly arguing with, but other than that she seemed fine. At least physically. In a second, he was sitting at her side.

"Jules, what the hell happened?"

She shook her head, taking in a shaky breath as both Sam and Ed waited on an answer. "I heard noises downstairs… I thought it was you being… well, _you_… but it wasn't. It wasn't you. He was in my house. I swear. I saw him. And then I saw… there was… I think it was a bomb… He ran out the back and I didn't know what else to do so I decided to get out of the house too and then…" she shrugged, gesturing towards the quickly burning house in front of her.

"Who is _he_?" Sam wanted to know.

"I don't know," she mumbled. She had refused to speak to the detectives on scene until her team arrived, and now that she had told them she wasn't sure she felt like talking anymore. She was slowly letting herself slip into a trance like state.

"What'd he look like?" Ed asked. Greeted with a shaking head from Jules, he asked again, more forcefully. "Jules, you're trained for this. What did he look like?"

"Brown hair… um… tall… thin… he had his back to me…"

Ed sighed, turning to Sam for help. "Jules, you've got to give us more than that. How tall?"

She blinked, trying her best to think. "Taller than me."

"Jules, come on. Most men are taller than you. How much taller was he?"

She bit the inside of her lip, tapping her heel on the pavement. She tried her best to recall what she had seen. What the man was doing, how he was standing… "Taller than you."

Sam nodded, then asked, "are you sure?"

Jules nodded back. "Yes. He grabbed something from the top of the cupboards. He didn't even have to reach. You have to reach. He didn't have to."

Sam and Ed glanced at each other, sharing a nod. They both knew that was about all they were going to get out of her for the night.

"Brown hair, thin, taller than Sam. Got it," Ed said, heading off to find the rest of his team.

Sam draped an arm around Jules, whose attention had been drawn back to what remained of her burning home. It was starting to hit her that her house was going away, that it was gone. She'd spent a long time customizing her home, making it her own. Her goal was to have some place that she could feel at ease in, safe in, and while it had been a while since she'd really felt safe anywhere, it killed her to see her home disintegrating in front of her. She repressed a shiver as she heard the thud of yet another part of her house tumbling down. She leaned into Sam, who had pulled her in closer to him, and finally let just a few tears fall.

* * *

><p>It was well into the wee hours of the morning before fire crews got the blaze under control. Jules sat wrapped in Sam's jacket, shivering slightly as her hair hadn't had a chance to dry completely. She let out a sigh as the arson detective and his partner continued to interrogate her.<p>

"So there was someone in your kitchen you didn't recognize?"

"Yes. Tall, brunette, thin."

"Is there someone who would want to hurt you?"

The rest of her team had gathered around and exchanged knowing glances - she had suspected such things and passed her concerns along to them and they had ignored it. The guilt was now hitting all of them like a rock.

Jules shrugged. "I'm not sure who."

The detective glanced around at the men encircling her. "Could we speak to Miss Callaghan alone, please?"

The men of team one raised their eyebrows at the man's request, but after a nod from Jules signalling it was ok they slowly moved away.

The detectives shared a look. "These guys…"

Jules gave him an incredulous glare. "_My Team._"

"Is there any reason why they would want to hurt you?"

"No."

"I understand that it may be-"

Jules shook her head, annoyed with the accusation. "No. My team would not do this. We've been through way too much together to turn on each other."

The detectives took a moment to study the behaviour of the team before turning back to Jules. Satisfied that there were no immediate suspects in the group, the taller of the two continued. "What about a boyfriend?"

"The blonde," Jules said simply, pointing him out in the group.

The man nodded to his partner, who immediately walked towards Sam, taking him away from the group to be questioned separately.

"It wasn't Sam," Jules told the remaining detective.

"We have to consider all possible suspects, I'm sure you understand that."

His tone was condescending, irking Jules more than he already had. "Oh, I understand that you're wasting your time. I said the guy was a brunette, Sam's a blonde. On top of that, he was at work at the time."

"You said you thought it was him downstairs… and now you say he was at work… why are you changing your story, Miss Callaghan?"

She rolled her eyes, prepared to vehemently defend her boyfriend and partner. "Oh for the… Yes, I thought it was him. But it wasn't, it was some skinny brunette guy. Sam was in with SIU, he has a rock solid alibi."

"We'll see about that."

* * *

><p>Sam stood staring at the detective in front of him.<p>

"How long have you two been involved?"

"What? What does that have to do with this?"

"Answer the question."

Sam glared at the man. "You think I- wow. I was with SIU. Check with my lawyer. Check with my team leader, he's the one who came and got me out of the interrogation room," he practically snarled.

The detective, clearly annoyed with Sam's tone, continued with a barrage of questions.

Sam stared at the man, who seemed to have already made up his mind. "Do I need a lawyer?" he asked, both confused and irritated.

The detective walked back over to his partner, who was still questioning Jules, and whispered something to him.

"What do you have to say about the fact that your _boyfriend_ has refused to answer more questions without a lawyer?"

Jules nearly snorted, stifling her first genuine laugh of the day. "I'd say he's smart, considering we all know how quickly false conclusions can be jumped to," she told them, sending a small smile to Sam.

"You know what, Callaghan? If you think that-"

"That'll be enough boys, we're turning the case over."

Jules glanced away to the sound of a familiar voice. She immediately recognized her as the arson investigator from the call just over a month ago.

"Excuse me?" the two detectives said in unison, less than thrilled about being told what to do.

"I'll be supervising, but other than that we're turning the case over to SRU team one."

The two detectives groaned as they shuffled away to their car.

"Sorry about them," the woman told Jules once they were out of earshot. "Overzealous probies if you ask me. I'm not sure if you remember me but I'm-"

"Beth, right?" Jules finished for her. "So the team is in charge of the investigation?"

"Minus you, because, well, a victim that involved in an investigation taints all the evidence and it would never float if this goes to court."

Jules nodded her understanding. "So... you just handed over the case?"

Beth sighed. "After what happened with Simon I'm inclined to feel I owe your team a favour."

While Jules caught up with the woman, repeating her statement just so that Beth could keep up to speed, the team stood discussing their next move.

Greg took off his cap. "Beth and the arson team are going to go over this place once its safe to do so, Spike?"

He nodded. "I'll stick around. If Jules is right and it was a bomb I want to be here to check out the remains of it first hand."

"What about Jules?" Raf asked.

"Well, I'm tempted to lock her in a one door room with no fewer than six armed guards," Sam told them, only half exaggerating.

"No kidding," Ed groaned. "But lets say the department isn't about to pay for that…"

"She can stay at my place. The building has a video security system, electronic access only," Sam explained.

Spike shook his head. "That's great, but if this is connected to all the other weird stuff that's been going on then we're dealing with a guy who managed to consistently break into her alarmed house without either of you noticing how. My bet is a video security system isn't going to be much of a deterrent at this point."

Ed nodded his agreement. "He's right."

Raf sighed. "I think its the best option. We can't put her up in a hotel, that's less secure, and what's our other option? Make her sleep in the SRU briefing room? Look at her. The girl needs rest."

They all turned to look at Jules who, even while keeping up a conversation with Beth, looked like she might fall asleep standing up at any moment.

"We take shifts," Greg told them, the team instantly agreeing. "I'll finish up here, Raf you go with Sam and Jules to Sam's place. Ed, go sleep, we'll meet you at HQ in the morning and you'll take your turn the first half of tomorrow night if we haven't caught this guy by then."

They all knew he was being a little over confident in implying they could find the person in one day, but they hoped their boss was right.


	9. The Investigation

**A/N: Ok, so here's the beginning of the investigation. Fair warning, I drop an F bomb in this chapter. Only one though (I think). Oh, and it gets a little fluffy towards the end of it but I needed it LOL**

* * *

><p>Team one sat gathered around the briefing room table. Despite the fact that none of them had gotten any sleep the night before, not even Ed who had been sent home specifically to do so, they were all alert and determined to find the man who burned down Jules' house.<p>

Raf took the lead in the conversation, having had a lot of time to think about it as he sat awake on Sam's couch all night. "Are we sure this was targeted? I know theres been a lot going on lately, but are we sure this isn't just some kid playing with fire?"

Spike was already shaking his head as Raf finished asking the question. "This was definitely targeted. If it was just about arson, just about destruction of property, why wouldn't they have gone after Jules' neighbour's house? They're clearly on vacation because the mail is piling up outside, there are no lights on and at no point last night did they come on as part of any kind of timer. Its the perfect target, and yet they choose the house next-door, that just happens to belong to a police officer. Combine that with the device they used to set the fire and no, I'm not buying the mischievous arsonist theory."

"What _did_ they use?" Jules asked. She'd briefly seen what she figured was a bomb the night before, but Spike's use of the word device had sparked curiosity.

"It's not quite a bomb per se… it's not meant to destroy with an explosion, simply to create a large fire. Its simple to make, and I'm sure you can find the instructions on the internet, but it takes a lot of time and patience to set up. It's not your average arson tool, lets put it that way."

The team fell silent for a moment while they considered what was said. "Ok," Ed began, "then lets start with the usual suspects. Theres the boyfriend," he said, looking at a scowling Sam. "But he was here so he couldn't have done it. Exes?"

Jules shook her head. "Honestly I've only dated two guys in the past four years, and it couldn't have been Steve. I could go back farther but I doubt someone would wait that long to get back at their ex."

"How do you know it wasn't Steve?" Sam asked.

"Same way I know it wasn't you," Jules glared at him. She knew it was an honest question, but she was getting tired of people asking for what she considered to be obvious answers. "Besides, Steve went home for his mom's birthday, met a girl, and never came back to Toronto. Unless he's recently returned from the Hat then it couldn't have been him."

There was a knock at the door and they all turned to look at Winnie, who was carrying a large envelope. "Sorry to interrupt… Jules, the courier service just dropped this off. It's addressed to you."

The team exchanged confused glances before taking what they considered appropriate, and what Jules considered excessive, precautions to ensure the contents were safe. Jules slid the contents out of the envelope an into her hand. Before opening it they had determined the contents to be papers, most likely pictures. It was the pictures of what that scared her.

There were a few basic shots of rooms in her house, some of she and Sam sitting in her kitchen, her living room. Then there was one of the figurines she keeps, or used to keep, around her living room. And a hand adjusting them.

Shaking, she turned and handed the picture to Sam.

"The three bears…" he said under his breath. When the rest of the team looked on in confusion, he explained. "Jules noticed that some things around the house had been moved…"

The team sat passing around the photos, carefully inspecting them. Ed looked up. "Alright so what does this give us? He likes to take pictures of himself messing with your house, then what? Sit outside with his camera and watch you?"

Jules was shaking her head, continuously flipping through the photos. She'd get to the bottom of the pile and start over again, each time growing more and more nervous. "He doesn't sit outside."

Greg met his teammates' confused glances before turning to Jules. "What?"

Jules became still in a mock composed state. "He doesn't sit outside. This picture of us in the living room… it was taken from inside the house."

Sam's hand nearly went through the table he was leaning on. "Excuse me?"

Jules nodded furiously, tapping the picture in front of her. "This is facing the back of the house… you can't get this angle from the front windows. There's a wall there…or, there _was_ a wall there."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I put that wall there."

The team sat, feet tapping, fingers drumming, team leaders pacing. Every few minutes someone would open there mouth, sure they knew where to take the conversation next, but ultimately they would close their mouth without speaking. Focused on their own thoughts, the group nearly jumped when Greg's phone rang.

"Yeah, ok great thanks," he said into the phone, turning to his team. "The house has been cleared, Jules, if you wanted to go see what can be salvaged. Sam, Ed, go with her - see if any of the stuff being touched in the pictures is still around, it's a long shot but maybe we can pull some prints off of it. Spike, Raf, with me."

Jules left the room, followed by Sam and Ed. Spike and Raf both remained at the table, turning to their boss for answers.

"I want a second look into those calls from before. This pizza place thing… there's something hinky about it. Pull any security cameras that face the phone booths, see if we can get a visual on this guy."

* * *

><p>Jules sighed, looking around at what remained. The fire had gutted the living room and kitchen, and gone upwards to the room directly above it. That room, as it happened, was Jules' bedroom. At the top of the stairs she had enough room to walk around where the fire department had deemed safe, which really only included the spare bedroom and bathroom. As she wandered back downstairs with a small box of the few intact items she'd recovered from the mess, she found Sam and Ed talking in what used to be her living room since the remains of her kitchen were still cordoned off.<p>

Ed nodded in her direction. "How's upstairs?"

Jules sighed, dropping the box onto the charred remains of her sofa. "My room is gone."

"That bad eh?" Sam sighed.

"Literally gone, Sam. They said the floor caved in. I'd say that heap over there," she told them, gesturing over their shoulders towards the kitchen, "is what remains of my bed."

Sam's eyes widened - he had spent some time examining the gaping hole in the kitchen ceiling, knowing full well that her bedroom would have been above it, but somehow he hadn't counted on the entire room coming through the floor. His first thought had been what would have happened if Jules had been sleeping, but he quickly decided not to vocalize that concern - he knew they were all thinking it.

"What did you find?" Ed asked, looking towards the box.

"Some old pictures, some jewellery I had left in the bathroom. Not much really," she shrugged as she frowned. "Any prints?"

Sam rubbed at the back of his neck. "A partial. We'll get Spike on it but it'll take a while to get any hits."

* * *

><p>Sam sat in his living room, carefully studying Jules as she rifled through her last remaining box of belongings. He had expected her to be sad, which she was, and angry, which he suspected she was beginning to be. What surprised him, for some reason, was the lost expression on her face, the hurt, the fear. Aside from certain situations involving armour piercing bullets or anthrax, Jules didn't do fear, barely showed pain. It was such a far leap from her usual state.<p>

She sat there taking inventory of the box with purpose. He tried to figure out what she was looking for - she had, after all, packed it herself. "Jules?"

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" It came out angry, but not defensive. She shook her head, trying to sort out her thoughts. "I have one box. One. And what's in it? Sentimental crap, but no semblance of a life. Sam, I don't have a home. My house is a pile of ash within four questionable walls. I'm literally homeless. Oh, and theres some psycho…stalking me? Us? Trying to kill me? I don't even know. This whole thing… it's just fucked up."

Sam nodded his agreement, unsure of where to begin.

"And you know what's worse? For one thing I feel like I'm completely ungrateful because I know it could have been so much worse… If I hadn't gone downstairs… or if we were asleep or… But then i remember that it's nowhere near over and…" she trailed off, gave a wave of the hand to indicate she wasn't sure what to say next.

Sam leaned back in his seat beside her, wrapping an arm around her. "Well, for one thing, you aren't totally homeless. You can stay here as long as you want, and I know that's not the same but its something. And as for this guy, we'll get him. Spike's got the partial print running through the database, and when I spoke to Sarge he said he and Raf were reviewing tapes from security cameras to look further into those calls you were getting in case they're related. It'll be a couple days because a few of the cameras are owned by private companies so they're waiting on a warrant, but we're working on it. We'll find who's doing this, Jules. I promise."

She gave a small nod and a half smile, and continued to stare into the box.

"So," Sam began, hoping to distract her a little from the idea of someone after her. "What kind of sentimental crap is in the box?"

"The jewellery I had left on the bathroom sink when I took a shower - earrings, necklace, rings. Some pictures I had kept in a shoebox in the spare room - old ones of the team, a few of me and my brothers… one of us at the picnic…"

"It's a good picture," he smiled, taking it from her. "Except you can't really see your eyes because you're squinting," he teased.

"Um, Sam, it was sunny out. Everyone was squinting."

"Sure, but you're the only one who walked around with your sunglasses on your head squinting all afternoon."

"Had I worn my sunglasses you still wouldn't have been able to see my eyes."

"Ok, you've got me there." He laughed, and smiled broadly as she laughed along. Uncertain as things may have been, he was glad to have made her smile if even for just a few minutes.


	10. This Porridge is Too Hot!

**A/N: So… started this like a month ago, or maybe more, finished it just now. Tempted to hold off on posting it because SOMEONE *cough*Tirsh*cough* has been harassing me to post stuff and throwing accusations at me…but… I'm just as annoyed that I haven't been able to post in so long so here it is. Like I said, kinda rushed to get this up here so I apologize for any spelling issues. **

* * *

><p>"Ok so what do we know so far?"<p>

"Definitely targeted. Who would have a grudge against Jules?"

"Know of anyone?" Greg asked, turning to address Jules.

She shrugged. "Not really… I mean, obviously there's all the people we've put away but…"

"But that's useless because there are a lot of them. Plus, so far they haven't come after anyone else on the team," Raf continued Jules' thought.

Ed nodded to himself. "Anything on the print we pulled from the scene?"

Spike shook his head. "It's just a partial, and it's a pretty big database so that could be a while so in the meantime I thought maybe there was something else we could look into."

The team studied Spike's face as he typed away at the computer in front of him, anxiously awaiting what idea he could possibly have.

"Well, what is it?" Sam prompted, no doubt running low on patience.

Spike groaned, a little peeved that he hadn't gotten to pause for dramatic effect for as long as he had hoped. "Well, I said it was a _device_ that started the fire. Takes some talent, and some time. Seems to me that for someone to spend that much time on something like that they would have to have a vested interest in it…"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Such as killing Jules. We know that."

Spike shook his head, continuing to type. "Maybe that's the goal, but I think there's something to be said for the method here."

Jules began to nod, following Spike's train of thought. "So we're looking for someone who likes fire."

"Exactly. If they just wanted you dead, they could pick up a gun and be done with it." Spike made a defensive gesture when the rest of his team glared at him. "Anyways, so I'm thinking this guy likes setting fires, and the complexity of the device tells me-"

"That he's done it before. That's genius," Jules commented, moving to read over Spike's shoulder.

"I thought so. And… here we go," Spike announced proudly, expanding a window on the computer screen to reveal a photo. "Alex Jacobs. Look familiar?"

Jules squinted her eyes, carefully examining the man on screen. "Not at all. What's his file say?"

"Started a series of small fires before graduating the bigger stuff. He used similar devices to what I recovered from your house and landed himself a homicide charge," Spike read aloud from the screen.

"So he's in prison?" Ed questioned.

"Not quite," Jules added, picking up where Spike left off. "Says here he was found not criminally responsible, spent some time in Waypoint before being released after a review board hearing a month ago. Apparently he got his urges under control and was deemed not a significant threat to the public."

Raf rolled his eyes. "Not a significant… yeah, sure. So what's his connection to Jules?"

Spike shook his head, going back to typing. "Nothing relating to the SRU. What about when you were at the RCMP? Is it possible he was linked to a case you worked on or something?"

Jules quickly scanned the file for herself. "Doubtful. I never dealt with any of that stuff."

There was a quick knock at the door as Winnie let herself into the briefing room, lugging a large box along with her.

"What's in there?"

Winnie sighed, dropping the box on the table. "Tapes from one of the private security companies that had surveillance on a few of the phone booths. Apparently they're living in another century."

Spike's eyes widened as he took inventory of the number of tapes. "I gotta see if we have something to play these on…" he mumbled, rushing out of the room.

Jules turned to Greg with a questioning gaze. "Phone booths?"

"Yeah… those calls you were getting… something hinky there. We've been pulling footage, but so far nothing gives us a good picture of the caller."

Spike quickly returned and began sifting through the tapes in hopes of determining once and for all if Jules' mysterious missed calls were related to the attack on her home. "Ok. First call was at 11:33am, from this phone here," he muttered, mostly to himself, as he fast forwarded to the time in question. He sighed when he came to the correct time. "And there's Jacobs. We still think he has no reason to go after Jules?"

"Either that or he's working with someone who does. He's in the system, which means his prints are too. I'll see if that partial matches up when directly paired with Jacobs' prints," Raf announced, moving to a computer.

Jules absently nodded at Raf's decision and carefully examined the video playing in front of her. "What's he… can you rewind that?"

"Of course I can rewind that, it's a damn VHS Jules. How far back?"

Jules simply rolled her eyes at Spike's snarky response. "Just start and I'll tell you when to stop." The group watched carefully as the video moved in reverse before them. "There. Did you see that? He keeps looking at something."

"I don't…"

"Where?"

"Right there, back towards where he walked out from. See, he just did it again. It's like… he's taking cues. He's taking cues from someone out of view of the camera…"

Spike shook his head in disbelief, leaning in close to the monitor. "Who needs digital enhancement with this one around…"

Jules shrugged, letting a small smile escape. "I was always sort of awesome at surveillance…"

Raf looked up from the computer he was working on. "No luck with the print. Jacobs isn't the one who was in the house."

Sam simply shook his head. "Doesn't matter. We know he's involved, he set the fire, he made the phone calls."

Ed gave a stern nod. "That's sure as hell got to be enough for a warrant or at least-"

"If not a warrant we must be able to bring him in for questioning-"

"Alright, alright, calm down," Sarge commanded, running a hand over his exhausted features. "The warrant for his arrest for arson could take some time, but I'll call the judge and get that started. In the meantime," he paused, glanced over the anxious faces of his teammates, "I don't see why we can't pay our friend a little visit." When the team made a unified move for the doors he settled them once more. "Wait just a minute. This needs to be clean. We don't want anything that a defense lawyer is going to have a field day with. So… Ed, Raf, you two go see Jacobs. Jules," he sighed as he saw her jaw clench, "conflict of interest - you can't have any part in bringing him in. Sam, same thing. Spike keep working the tapes."

* * *

><p>Quietly entering the briefing room Sarge took a quick second to examine the tired officer hunched over the table. "Did you eat?"<p>

"Not hungry," Jules mumbled, re-reading the file they had compiled on Jacobs, hoping to uncover some missing link between him and herself.

Sarge sighed, rubbed at his tired eyes. "You should eat something. Can't let it get to you like this. It's self-destructive."

Jules glared at him through tired eyes. "Really? _Really_, Boss? _You're_ going to lecture me on self-destructive? _Really_?"

All he could do was raise a stunned brow at her.

Finally hearing what had come out of her own mouth Jules let out an exhausted sigh, flipping her bangs through her fingers as she clenched her eyes shut. "That wasn't… I didn't… I mean I don't…"

Sarge nodded, held out a bag of carrot sticks. "I know. Further proof that you need to eat something."

With a sheepish look at her boss, Jules took the offered snack. "I'm sorry… I just haven't really been sleeping, what with the whole not having a house thing."

He gave another nod and settled into the chair next to her. "Not a fan of Sam's place?"

She shrugged. "Nah… I just don't like being forced to be somewhere… not that I don't want to be there it's just…"

"Not home."

"And I couldn't go home if I wanted to." She took a minute to thoughtfully munch. "Since when do you eat veggies for snacks?"

He sighed, frowned at the bag in front of him. "Since Marina decided I needed to eat healthier?"

Jules struggled to contain the smirk threatening to spread from ear to ear. "Really Boss? Wow she's really got you-"

Sam rushed into the room, Spike following close behind. "Ed's on line 3."

Sarge shifted towards the phone on the table and put Ed on speaker. "Eddie? How'd it go? You guys bringing him in?"

"That won't be possible, Boss."

"'He not home?" Sarge asked, exchanging weary glances with the team members currently gathered around him.

"Oh he was home. But someone got here before we did. Jacobs is dead."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oh snap! And here I bet people were thinking we might be really getting somewhere here...**

****Oh, and credit to Tirsh for the chapter title, though it's kinda only relevant to the story title and not so much the content of the chapter...****


	11. Lurking

**A/N: remember in the last chapter when I was all 'it's been exactly 1 month since I updated, i'll update sooner next time' or something like that? Well, I lied. But, the next chapter is here. I've got too many stories on the go! lol, and not all of them are even posted yet... I exhaust myself haha. Anyways... quick language warning, someone says '_Shit_' in this chapter. You've been warned. **

* * *

><p>Greg's bag of vegetables hit the floor. "What do you mean <em>he's dead<em>?"

There was a pause on the other end of the phone as the group heard Ed release a deep sigh. "I mean dead-dead. Bullet in the back of the head-dead. Neighbours reported a disturbance early this morning, a couple unis found his body, signs of a struggle."

Jules sighed, rolling her eyes at her bad luck. "Suspects?"

Ed nearly snorted on the phone. "Not officially, yet, but if I had to guess?"

Sam nodded from his place in the briefing room. "Someone's cleaning up."

"Exactly. This guy likes fire, but we've already established he's just a pawn. Looks like he's served his purpose and whoever he was working with decided he was a loose end."

Greg set his snack aside, a new plan quickly forming in his mind. "Ok. Eddie, you and Raf see what you can get from the scene. See if you can get any clue as to who this guy was working for - speed dial numbers, third grade yearbooks, I don't care. Check everything. Spike, you and I will review those tapes, see if we missed anything. Sam, Jules, go back through Jacobs' history and look for a link to Jules. It's in there somewhere, we just need to find it."

* * *

><p>"Anything?"<p>

"What do you think?"

Sam nodded, passed her a bottled water. "I think it's getting late and you look like you could use a decent night's sleep."

She sighed, rolled her head to one side before nodding. "Fine. Just let me finish reading through his last psych evaluation from Waypoint."

He gave a nod as he started clearing up the stacks of papers that littered the briefing room table. "I also put a call into Waypoint to see if maybe we could talk with the doctors who treated him there."

Jules sighed, setting the file down on the table. "I'm not sure what good that would do considering we know he wasn't likely acting purely out of his own motives. And all I'm getting from this report is a slight case of OCD and maybe signs of an easily manipulated personality."

He shrugged. "At the very least we might be able to find out what kind of person might have been able to manipulate him like that. Now come on, let's go home."

* * *

><p>Death of a prime suspect aside, it's the best he's slept in weeks. Somehow the knowledge that the man who blew up Jules' house met an untimely end calms him, even if it means they're left with a bigger fish to fry. His peace was short lived though, as he was awoken in the wee hours with a chill. He assumed it was the result of a change in the temperature coming from the vents as tends to happen at night, and reached to adjust the blankets around he and Jules. That was when he really realized why he was so cold. Opening his eyes he quickly scanned the bed, only to find that Jules was not there.<p>

Panic set in quickly as he jumped out of bed, stopping only briefly to tug on a shirt. Ed was out in the living room after all, and there was no need to rush around half naked in front of him. With that taken care of, he set out to find her.

He padded barefoot out to the living room, stifling back a snort at the sight of Ed snoozing on the sofa, magazine in hand. Glancing around he found Jules, determined that she was safe, and opted to leave Ed to sleep a while longer. His bald head was likely to sense any change in the environment anyway, so Sam figured he wasn't a very deep sleeper.

Fingers linked around the railing, Jules took in the view from the balcony. The city at night. She watched the steady stream of lights in the distance, quickly dismissing the debate of which highway it was in favour of searching out other landmarks. She counted four or five bank logos, tried for the hundredth time to see where her house is- er, was. She took a deep breath before turning her attention to the parking lot and street below. In the hours shortly after midnight, as could have been suspected, she didn't see much of anything. A few cars arriving at nearby buildings, probably belonging to people who logged more hours at work than she did. A man shivering as he appeared to plead with a new puppy to do his business so they could go back inside. She scanned the parking lots in the area once more, barely flinching when she heard the sliding door open behind her.

"Thought you were sleeping."

"Woke up and you weren't there," he said simply, moving to stand beside her. "What're you doing out here?"

She sighed, brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Couldn't really sleep. Thought I'd come out here, clear my head." She pulled back from the railing, stretched out her neck. "It's like this guy is two steps ahead and we just can't keep up."

He nodded, watched as she focused on some distant point. When a shiver rocked her body he moved to stand behind her, running his hands down her bare arms in an effort to warm her. "We've had one setback, Jules, that's it. Spike's still running the partial, Sarge is pulling more security tapes from near the pay phones to get an eye on who Jacobs was working for. We'll get this guy."

She exhaled deeply, nodding along with what he was saying. It wasn't that she didn't have confidence in her team, more that she was losing hope in the situation. "I hope you're right."

"I am. I'm always right," he grinned when he caught a slight glimpse of a smile on her lips. "Now, if you're done with the night sky survey," he smirked, pressing a row of kisses along the side of her neck.

"Sam."

"Mmmhmmm…"

"Seriously, out here Sam?" She rolled her eyes when he didn't halt his movements. "You do realize Ed is right inside that door."

"He's out-cold Jules." He stopped when he noticed a chill hit her through the goosebumps rising on her arms and neck. "Speaking of cold, you ok? Come inside."

"What's that over there?"

"Huh?"

"That lot across the street. The one that's mostly empty, what is it?"

He shrugged, pulled her closer so he could align his line of sight with hers. "Not sure. Think it's extra parking for one of the buildings around here. Why?"

"While we were at the house today with my insurance guy I saw a car up the block I didn't recognize. But there's been a house for sale up there for a while so I thought maybe it was just potential buyers." She shifted her weight, turned so that she was facing him while still keeping an eye on the lot across the street. To an onlooker, she simply appeared to be whispering in his ear. "But then when we left, the car left too. Sam, I thought I was just being paranoid but I could have sworn it was following us."

Sam nodded as he picked up her train of thought. "You think that's the same one over there?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but it was there when I first came out here."

Sam took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Jules, it's a parking lot. It's where people keep cars, often overnight."

"No. When I first came out here I glanced around and I saw the interior lights go out. I haven't exactly been staring at it but I don't think anyone ever got out of the car. Watch, in a few minutes you'll see a glow - there's someone in there and they keep checking their phone." She focused her eyes, angling his chin with her hand to ensure he was looking as well. Sure enough, the front window of the car caught the subtle glow of a cell phone once again.

"You're sure it's the same car?"

"Sam."

He frowned, nodded against the side of her head. "I'm going to go inside. You're going to come with me." When he felt her body stiffen as if she was going to protest he continued. "Don't make it obvious. Just a couple who's decided to move things inside, alright? I'll get Ed, go down and check it out, but I want you to stay up here."

She nodded, let her hand find his where it rested against her hip. "Ok."

He took a moment, pressed one last kiss to her cheek. "Ok." With that he quickly turned her to face him, a forced smile on his face as he led her to the door.

Once inside, they parted ways. Jules retreated to the shadows where she was hidden but still had a clear view out the kitchen window to the car in question. Ed, as expected, caught a gust of cold air across his head when the sliding door opened. Jules filled him in from her position at the window while Sam ran to his bedroom to get his gun. In a matter of seconds both Ed and Sam were out the door.

Jules quickly locked the door behind them before returning to her position at the window. She watched carefully for any sign of movement within the car, drumming her fingers against the window pane as she waited for Sam and Ed to emerge from the building and onto the street. "Shit! Shit! Shit!" She grabbed Sam's phone from it's place on the counter, immediately finding Ed's number in the speed dial. "Ed, where are you guys? The car just started!" She watched as the car jolted backwards out of it's spot, turning to take the exit from the parking lot that faced away from the building. "Come on Sam…"

Finally, she watched as Sam and Ed ran out of the building, reaching the lot just in time to see the car pull out and onto the street, heading toward the highway.


	12. Close

**A/N: Psssst! It's a new chapter :) **

* * *

><p>Jules huffed as she paced the floor in Sam's apartment. She couldn't believe how close they'd just come, and how far away everything still seemed. She couldn't believe she had just watched as Sam and Ed rushed outside to investigate the car, and it's driver, only to have the suspect get wise to their plan and get away.<p>

"Unbelievable!" she seethed, scanning the room for something to throw. She whirled around as she heard the door open behind her. "As if he got away! How did he know you two were coming? Why didn't- what's going on?"

"Get dressed," Sam told her.

She watched in confusion as he checked the lock on the door to the balcony before making his way down the hall to his bedroom. "Sam?"

"Yeah, yeah sounds good."

Turning around she saw Ed enter the apartment, ending a call on his cellphone before throwing her her coat. "Get dressed," he echoed Sam's words, moving to retrieve his keys from the coffee table.

"Excuse me?"

"We're all meeting at HQ."

Stunned, she simply pulled on her jacket and nodded that she was ready to go.

As Sam returned to the room, after having changed out of his pyjama pants and into a pair of jeans, he nodded to Ed before turning to Jules. "Get dressed."

"This is as dressed as I'm getting without more information because frankly I'd like to know why the hell-"

"We got a plate number."

* * *

><p>They'd barely entered HQ when Sam's phone started ringing. Noting the caller ID, he signalled to Jules that he'd catch up and answered it. "Braddock."<p>

_"This is Doctor Turrins with Waypoint Centre, I got a message from you asking about Alex Jacobs…"_

Sam nodded to himself. "That's right. I was hoping you could shed some light on something he's been involved in."

On the other end of the phone he could hear the doctor sigh to himself. _"Listen, I'm not sure what he's been up to and I'd love to help, but as I'm sure you can appreciate I do have to maintain certain amounts of confiden-"_

"Jacobs was found dead yesterday."

_"What do you need to know?"_

* * *

><p>The remainder of team one filed in behind Spike as he began typing away, searching the licence plate number Ed and Sam had given him. They were all so focused on the task at hand, or perhaps still partly asleep in the wee hours of the morning, that no one bothered to comment on the brightly coloured race cars making their way across Spike's pyjama pants.<p>

"Huh," Spike mumbled, continuing to type away.

"What?" Ed demanded, rolling his eyes as Spike opened a second window and began an additional search. "Spike, come on, what's this guy's name?"

Spike shook his head. "That's the weird thing. The car is registered to a woman."

Raf's brow furrowed. "Well, that's news."

Jules frowned. "That doesn't… we were so sure that… who is she?"

"Car is registered to one Judith Clarence," Spike announced.

"That's it?" Jules scoffed. "That's all you've got?"

Spike shook his head. "Would a little patience kill you?" As the room fell quiet he realized his poor choice of words. "I mean… Judith Clarence - office administrator, has worked the same job for the past fifteen years."

Greg tilted his head forward, waiting for Spike to elaborate. "And? Spike, buddy, come on. Any questionable associates, links to SRU calls, RCMP investigations? What about family? Married? Children?"

Spike nodded. "Marriage…give me a minute..."

"Doc I'm going to put you on speaker if that's alright," Sam spoke into his phone as he walked into the room. "Guy's I've got a Doctor Turrins from Waypoint on the phone. He treated Jacobs and there's a few things that might be worth hearing," he told his team, switching his phone to speaker and holding it out for everyone to hear.

Greg sighed, relieved to have a new source of information while Spike continued to investigate Judith Clarence. "Doctor Turrins, Sergeant Greg Parker. What can you tell us?"

_"Well, as I was explaining to Constable Braddock, there's not much I can say about the patient's condition. There are however a few things I can tell you about his release from our facility."_

Greg rolled his eyes, glaring at Sam in discontent. Here he thought the doctor might be able to provide some new information. "That's great Doc, but we've all read the report."

_"I'm talking about things that weren't in that report. Yes, he did show significant improvement during his time with us, and that's why he was released, but there is - was - so much more to Alex Jacobs than that. Towards the end of his treatment program I noticed he seemed to be very easily influenced by other people, even through things as simple as suggestion. It was more than just being a follower in the social circle, it was troubling."_

Greg raised an eyebrow. "Any diagnosis?"

The doctor paused and the entire room envisioned the doctor shaking his head in disappointment on the other end of the line. _"I thought I was getting somewhere with him, but then the review board met and he was released, leaving me with nothing more to go on."_

Sam shook his head. "If you still had concerns, then why let him leave?"

_"Because it wasn't only up to me. I said my peace, but ultimately it wasn't enough. The board found that he was no longer a significant threat, so he was released. I voiced my concerns, but a susceptibility to what might as well be called peer pressure does not qualify one as a significant threat."_

Spike looked up from his keyboard momentarily. "Know of anyone who may have been capable of providing said peer pressure?"

Sam gave a nod to his teammates. "That's where it gets interesting."

_"During Jacobs' stay with us he made friends with an older patient. The two were inseparable, which made me particularly anxious given what I already suspected about Jacobs."_

Jules nodded. "This older patient got a name?"

_"Well, you know I can't-"_

Spike straightened up in front of the computer. "Dale Murray."

_"Uh, yeah, actually."_

Nodding in self-satisfaction, Spike continued. "Found the marriage record for Judith Clarence, formerly Judith Murray, and cross referenced with all team one calls for the past 10 years to be thorough. I think I've found our link."

Greg gave a quick nod. "Alright, thank you for your help doctor but I think we've got it from here. Just keep your phone handy." Attempting to decipher the information on Spike's computer screen he shook his head in defeat. "We got an address?"

* * *

><p>When his SUV weaved it's way through the suburban community leading to the house in question, Greg sighed. Though the hot call that had lead them down this particular path had been years before, the memory of it still brought on a whole slew of emotions. It was their first hot call since Lew's passing and, although they had spent a couple weeks working together to get through recruiting trials, it was marked in his mind as their first real work day without him.<p>

"Ok team, let's review what we know about Dale Murray."

From his position in the following truck Spike nodded, taking his cue. "Dale Murray's daughter Wendy disappeared at age 18. 3 years later, Dale took a waitress from a local diner hostage."

Ed nodded, his own memory of the call returning. "Thought she was his missing daughter, didn't he?"

From his position in the driver's seat, Raf turned to his sergeant. "How'd that end?"

"We talked him down," he sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Spike, we know he was in Waypoint, anything else?"

Spike typed away before nodding. "Spent some time at Waypoint, left there about 6 months before Jacobs. Address on file Judith's."

"So he might be there," Raf thought aloud, "and if he's the one who's behind all this we can't exactly walk up to his front door and hope to have a rational conversation. Ed?"

"Copy that. Spike?"

"2 doors: front and back. Not a complicated house."

"Alright, Spike and the boss take the front door, Raf and I will cover the back in case someone doesn't feel like chatting with us."

* * *

><p>"You have to know I think this is ridiculous," Jules groaned. While the rest of the team had gone to follow their latest lead, she and Sam had stayed behind. Greg had insisted that any further involvement in the investigation on their part would only taint any evidence they found, and suggested the two go back to Sam apartment and wait for an update.<p>

"Doing restock at 6am _is_ ridiculous, Jules. We're not on shift, and the boss promised to let us know when they know anything, so there's no reason for us to be here at all," Sam repeated, for what had to be the tenth time.

"Sam, what am I supposed to do? Go home and watch the morning news where they'll report on how the suspect who lit a cop's house on fire was found dead in his home yesterday? Seriously?"

Sam frowned. "No, but we could go get something to eat. You know, that breakfast thing? Or, if you were feeling really wild, we could go home and sleep as if we didn't get any sleep last night. Because we didn't."

She drummed her fingers against one of the shelves as she sighed. There was no denying she was hungry. "Compromise?"

Sam studied her carefully before giving a quick nod. "I'm listening."

"You go grab us breakfast, and when you get back," she paused, raising a finger in warning as Sam's eyes lit up, "we go over the Murray file again."

"Jules-"

"There's something in there. There has to be. Maybe breakfast will help - fresh eggs and all?"

He raised a brow at her. "Do you mean eyes?"

"What?" she scowled, shaking her head. "I didn't say- Did I? Eyes. Definitely meant eyes."

Smirking he pat her on the head. "I'll be back soon."

She kept her back to him as he walked away, determined to keep the steadily creeping blush out of his view. As it was, she'd never live that slip of the tongue down. Scanning the shelves she went through her mental list of restock duties. As she thought about what to do next, the familiar buzz of her phone caught her attention. Sarge. Midway through picking up the call she was already at Winnie's desk, telling the dispatcher to get Sam on the phone.

"Sarge?"

"_Jules, Sam around?"_

"Just stepped out for breakfast, Winnie's getting him on the line. What'd you find out?"

"_We got here and he was gone. He left the house in a huff around noon yesterday and hasn't been back. Listen we're still working through things here but I think it's best you and Sam stay put. Where'd he go?_"

"Not far, probably still in the parking lot."

"_Call me back when you've got him._"

As she disconnected the call she accepted the receiver Winnie handed her. "Sam? Hey, no Sarge just called, he's not there."

"_I suppose this puts a damper on breakfast._"

"Sam-"

"_Yeah, ok I'll be right back in. Hey, by the way, I thought we agreed you would put the seat back where you found it._"

"Sam, what are you talking about, you drove here this morning."

"_Oh-_"

"_Don't move_."


End file.
